Teaching Home Management to the Visually Impaired: A Case of Copota School for the Blind Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study examined the teaching of Home Management to visually impaired
students. The purpose of the research was to find out how in the absence of sight, the
visually impaired students studied Home Management. A qualitative case study of
Copota School for the blind in Zimbabwe was used. A qualitative approach was used
in order to study the phenomena in its natural setting. Purposive and convenience
sampling procedures were used to collect data for the study. The participants were
Home Economics teachers, the school administration and visually impaired students
studying Home Management. Data was collected through interviews and observation.
The findings revealed that teaching Home Management was negatively affected by
inadequate resources such as stoves; port set readers, computers with voice, tape
recorders. It was also noted that Home Economics teachers enrolled to teach had no
training in handling the visually impaired. The teachers were qualified to teach Home
Management but not to teach the visually impaired. The study recommended that
teaching and learning should be supported by adequate resources for effective
teaching and learning to occur. Teachers teaching the visually impaired students
should, in addition to their Home Economics qualification, have special training in
teaching the visually impaired.